Toronto and York school boards hike gym rental fees sharply

The Toronto District School Board and York Region District School Board hiked permit fees for facility rentals effective September 1, affecting gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, and other school spaces.

Simon Rogers, who has run a basketball league at TDSB's Central Technical School for 17 years, said the change "boggles the mind." His permit jumped from just over $3,400 last year to $9,818 and some change this year. "It's a bit of a single-year leap," Rogers said. "We've always said we're happy to pay more, whatever that is, it's just, how much more?"

The York North Basketball Association, a nonprofit youth club serving the Newmarket-Aurora area and playing across the GTA, paid around $45,000 in permits last year. This year the bill shot up to around $208,000. "We probably had tears in our eyes when we found out the amounts," said Stephen Paine, the association's president. "I think this is going to be an unintended consequence on youth. There's a lot of user groups that won't be able to afford these schools anymore. We've already heard from families that can't afford it."

Zoya McGroarty, a TDSB spokesperson, said the increases account for inflation and the cost of caretaking during weekend permits. "Historically, weekend facility rental fees were intended to recover the full cost of providing access to school facilities, however over recent years, fees have not kept pace. This has resulted in staff pulling hundreds of thousands of dollars from other areas of the board to help offset these costs — something that cannot be continued."

Non-profit groups have historically paid lower rates due to provincial and school board subsidies. York's board has stopped offering subsidies altogether under the new structure. It remains unclear whether TDSB has fully stopped subsidizing costs.